Hill doesn't rule out a run for Senate seat

JEFFERSONVILLE — Indiana 9th District Rep. Baron Hill did not say whether he would pursue the Indiana Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Evan Bayh during a meeting Monday regarding the Ohio River Bridges Project, but he also didn’t rule it out.

“Well, yeah, I’m open to the idea — it doesn’t mean that I’m going to do it,” the Seymour Democrat said when asked of his intentions.

Questions have lingered about who will be the Democratic nominee following Bayh’s announcement last week that he would not be seeking a third term in office. Because of Bayh’s late departure, no Democrats were able to get the 500 signatures required from each of Indiana’s congressional districts to be on the ballot in on time, and as a result the party will have until June 30 to select a replacement candidate.

Hill said he is scheduled to meet with Bayh and Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee before any decision is made.

“Being away has not allowed me to have the kind of conversations that I need to have first,” Hill said. “I may have those conversations first, then we’ll see.”

Hill was on a week-long visit to troops overseas when Bayh made the announcement. That trip took him Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Since Bayh announced his retirement, Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Evansville, and Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. have declared their intentions to be considered for the seat.

Filed to run on the Republican side are Don Bates Jr., Richard Behney, Dan Coats, John N. Hostettler and Marlin A. Stutzman, according to information from the Indiana Secretary of State’s office.

While Hill has been considered among the contenders, he has still not made his intentions clear.

“You never say never in politics,” Hill said. “I’m still rolling up my sleeves to fight for the interests of Southern Indiana and if it’s doing that, again, that’s OK by me.

“If other opportunities avail themselves, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.